Italian Penetration

Belgrade, in return for aiding Zogu's invasion, expected repayment in
the form of territory and influence in Tiranė. It is certain that Zogu
promised Belgrade frontier concessions before the invasion, but once in
power the Albanian leader continued to press Albania's own territorial
claims. On July 30, 1925, the two nations signed an agreement returning
the town of Saint Naum on Lake Ohrid and other disputed borderlands to
Yugoslavia. The larger country, however, never reaped the dividends it
hoped for when it invested in Zogu. He shunned Belgrade and turned
Albania toward Italy for protection.

Advocates of territorial expansion in Italy gathered strength in
October 1922 when Benito Mussolini took power in Rome. His fascist
supporters undertook an unabashed program aimed at establishing a new
Roman empire in the Mediterranean region that would rival Britain and
France. Mussolini saw Albania as a foothold in the Balkans, and after
the war the Great Powers in effect recognized an Italian protectorate
over Albania.

In May 1925, Italy began a penetration into Albania's national life
that would culminate fourteen years later in its occupation and
annexation of Albania. The first major step was an agreement between
Rome and Tiranė that allowed Italy to exploit Albania's mineral
resources. Soon Albania's parliament agreed to allow the Italians to
found the Albanian National Bank, which acted as the Albanian treasury
even though its main office was in Rome and Italian banks effectively
controlled it. The Albanians also awarded Italian shipping companies a
monopoly on freight and passenger transport to and from Albania.

In late 1925, the Italian-backed Society for the Economic Development
of Albania began to lend the Albanian government funds at high interest
rates for transportation, agriculture, and public-works projects,
including Zogu's palace. In the end, the loans turned out to be
subsidies.

In mid-1926 Italy set to work to extend its political influence in
Albania, asking Tiranė to recognize Rome's special interest in Albania
and accept Italian instructors in the army and police. Zogu resisted
until an uprising in the northern mountains pressured the Albanian
leader to conclude the First Treaty of Tiranė with the Italians in
November 1926. In the treaty, both states agreed not to conclude any
agreements with any other states prejudicial to their mutual interests.
The agreement, in effect, guaranteed Zogu's political position in
Albania as well as the country's boundaries. In November 1927, Albania
and Italy entered into a defensive alliance, the Second Treaty of Tiranė,
which brought an Italian general and about forty officers to train the
Albanian army. Italian military experts soon began instructing
paramilitary youth groups. Tiranė also allowed the Italian navy access
to the port of Vlorė, and the Albanians received large deliveries of
armaments from Italy.